Grand Rapids, MI man open carries to polls

This is a discussion on Grand Rapids, MI man open carries to polls within the Open Carry Issues & Discussions forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; Whether this is "legal" or not in MI, it's just plain stupid.
Man confronted after carrying gun to polling place...

It appears he was "legal" in doing so, but like the old saying goes "discretion is the better part of valor".

Direct quote of Michigan law:

Sec. 234d (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (2), a person shall not possess a firearm on the premises of any of the following:
a) A Bank.
b) A church.
c) A court.
d) A theatre.
e) A sports arena.
f) A day care center.
g) A hospital.
h) An establishment licensed under the Michigan liquor control act (BAR).

(2) This section does not apply to any of the following:a) A person who owns, or is employed by or contracted by, an entity described in subsection (1) if the possession of that firearm is to provide security services for that entity. b) A peace officer. c) A person licensed by this state or another state to carry a concealed weapon.d) A person who possesses a firearm on the premises of an entity described in subsection (1) if that possession is with the permission of the owner or an agent of the owner of that entity.2) If you don’t have a CPL, you must transport your handgun as prescribed by law.

Maybe it's time people started getting used to the fact that people are responsible for their own safety,and you never know when some crazy SOB may decide to start shooting up a polling place,say for instance that happened and the CLP holder stopped the threat without any innocents being injured,they would be kissing his ass for saving them

Maybe it's time people started getting used to the fact that people are responsible for their own safety,and you never know when some crazy SOB may decide to start shooting up a polling place,say for instance that happened and the CLP holder stopped the threat without any innocents being injured,they would be kissing his ass for saving them

I agree with you and "msgt/ret", but even if it is legal, why not carry it concealed. Anyone with enough brains to fill a thimble knows that if you OC in a school, it is going to cause an issue.
I AM NOT AGAINST OC, even though we don't have it here in Fl. but sometimes I think these OC'ers do this for attention and to try to prove a point.
Looks like he got the attention he was seeking.
Just my 2 cent opinion.

He is stupid to exercise a right? A law abiding citizen carrying a gun, causing no problems, shooting no children, gives the antis an "incident" to use against us?
Shaking my head and wondering about the antis right here in this thread. If the founders would have just kissed a little King George butt, all that unpleasantness of the revolutionary war could have been avoided.

The guy that did this in on a local forum and was on there almost immediately after the incident. He apparently has audio of the whole thing but was warned repeatedly not to post it because he was issued a ticket and is supposed to meet with prosecutors on Monday. IMO he went in looking for a situation like a lot of OC folks that purposely carry into controversial places do. He was obviously making a statement and not so much worried about his safety, if he was he could have went with CC. I do understand the argument about rights but this article is all most people will ever read. I'm sure he wont be charged but it won't really change the negative taste people have gotten from the article and the GRPD will still appear to have won. I guess I dont see the value and I think it hurts more than it helps. Just my opinion. There are far better ways to secure our rights and doing so has helped win most of the states over to "shall issue" states.

The guy that did this in on a local forum and was on there almost immediately after the incident. He apparently has audio of the whole thing but was warned repeatedly not to post it because he was issued a ticket and is supposed to meet with prosecutors on Monday. IMO he went in looking for a situation like a lot of OC folks that purposely carry into controversial places do. He was obviously making a statement and not so much worried about his safety, if he was he could have went with CC. I do understand the argument about rights but this article is all most people will ever read. I'm sure he wont be charged but it won't really change the negative taste people have gotten from the article and the GRPD will still appear to have won. I guess I dont see the value and I think it hurts more than it helps. Just my opinion. There are far better ways to secure our rights and doing so has helped win most of the states over to "shall issue" states.

According to your profile info, you live in MI so you should know that CC in a school is illegal. The only lawful way to carry in a polling station inside a school is OC with a CPL. GRPD and the school administrators are in the wrong on this one.

Last edited by Waterborne; February 29th, 2012 at 03:14 PM.
Reason: typo

It says confronted not arrested. While appears to be legal in MI, I don't think it was in good judgement.

Not Legal here in WI> My voting place for the big turnouts is a school and for small turnouts the town hall. Both are no carry zones. I feel safe with no weapon there as it is a very small rural area and I keep my SA.

If it hasn't been done already, maybe someone needs to start another polling thread asking whether or not they would OC in a designated "gun free zone", assuming it's legal to do so. Of course, demo/geographics may skew the results a bit, but it would still be of interest, IMO.